Tutorial - make this simple Stitcher's Friend gift card!

One thing I like to do is send a Christmas card each year to the far away friends who made an indelible mark on my heart over those 23 years.

Last Tuesday when Mr E and I spent 8 hours driving to and from Cooktown I thought how nice to add something small and useful inside the Christmas cards that will be posted to sewing friends, and as the hours passed by and I stitched carefully on my knee over every bump the old outback road offered up, this idea came to pass.

With 2015 just over the hill, a useful gift for Christmas is a set of fresh sewing needles!

This little 'Stitcher's Friend' card will fit easily inside your regular Christmas cards, or would be a great addition to swap parcels.

I've made up these pretty labels for the cards...

There are six on the sheet, which you can download HERE as a free gift.

Gather some supplies.

I've raided Blossom's papercraft box and found that a pack of 6½” square papers will allow me to make two cards per sheet.

You'll also need:

* a roll of double sided tape (or glue)

* rotary cutter (use an old blade, not the one you're currently using for your fabrics)

* cutting board and ruler

* some scraps of cotton or wool quilt wadding/batting

* an assortment of needles - both hand sewing and machine are a good choice

Use your rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting board to accurately cut out the six Stitcher's Friend labels from the free sheet you have printed.

Cut the 6½” square of scrapbooking paper in half.

Place strips of double sided tape across the back of a label, covering the four side edges. Peel the backing from the tape and position the label inside the right hand half of your scrapbook paper...

Fold the paper in half to create a card...

Machine sew a line just inside the folded edge of the card. This helps to keep the card closed when you have finished it...

Gather your assortment of needles. Three or four needles will be enough...

Sew a scrap piece of cotton or wool quilt wadding/batting inside the card. A straight line across the top edge is all you need. Place the needles in the wadding...

A nice touch is to write what size needles you've added...

How easy was that!?

I've made two, only four more to go!

But, maybe I'll keep making them, after all they will be lovely additions in birthday cards too, don't you think?

If you'd like to stitch a sewing set for a more substantial gift I've just re-released my pretty "Linen Rose" sewing set as a pdf pattern...

The embroidery is quick and easy - simple backstitch and two strands of red thread!

It's also an easy pattern to machine sew once the hand work is complete, and can be made up in an afternoon...

The 'Linen Rose' pattern and your free 'Stitcher's Friend' labels are HERE in the shop now as instant pdf downloads.

Oh, Jenny, I love your needle card idea! Thank you so much! That would be a nice little something for those friends I don't really buy a gift for but I'd still like them to know I was thinking about them. You are such a great idea woman!

Very clever of you to include this little needle card within your Christmas cards for special freinds. Thank you sew much for sharing. I agree with the Birthday, Mother's Day and any other occasion for giving. Creative Needle Bliss...

That's such a clever and thoughtful gift Jenny! Thanks! That's a LOT of moving! And I thought we were bad moving 5 times in 10 years!! We may also be moving in 2015....we've been house hunting but have yet to find *the* house :)

It's always nice to receive feedback on a blog post, so *thank you* for taking time to comment!I will try to reply via email unless you are a 'no reply blogger' which means you'll have to check for my reply in the comments. Of course, life is a rather hazardous activity, isn't it? So if I don't respond to your comment that's the reason why - life simply stepped in...hugsJennyx